Tantric Buddhism expresses higher realities in the argot of enigmatic or allusive language, sandhyābhāṣā. Many terms for transgressive praxis in this argot are identified with the names of fragrant substances. One key phrase, “the combining of myrrh and cubeb” (bola-kakkola-yoga), which designates the process of hierophany, refers to ritual coition. But what does tantric praxis of this kind have to do with aromatics? Does allusive language have a common rationale for mapping between semantic domains, as occurs in metaphor? If not, it would be an incoherent discourse of mysticism, nonsense or pure encryption, as is often assumed. By investigating the scriptural, historical and linguistic milieu of the Hevajratantra, which introduces the cryptic nomenclature of bola and kakkola, this paper identifies principles involved in the derivation of allusive language and reflects on their role in religious communication.